Project title
Placemaking DEMO for NetZero: Addressing the Housing Access Trilemma through Data, Modelling and Transition Engineering.
Project abstract
This PhD addresses the housing–transport–wellbeing nexus as a wicked systems problem, arguing that current urban development remains locked into inequitable, car-dependent, and high-carbon patterns. While concepts such as the 20-minute neighbourhood promote human-scale accessibility, a key gap remains in whole-systems transition approaches capable of aligning economic and social actors toward equitable, low-carbon accessibility. Using the System Transition Engineering Processes (STEPs) approach, the research identifies housing markets as a central mechanism sustaining business-as-usual development. In response, it aims to develop the Placemaking DEMO (Data Exchange, Modelling, and Observatory) system to orient housing markets toward affordable, walkable, low-carbon locations centred on essential activities and household needs. Using the Orkney Islands as a living-lab, the study integrates spatial, behavioural, and policy data with agent-based modelling to evaluate how redesigned information and allocation systems can improve housing fit, wellbeing, and emissions outcomes.